Was driving along and bam - engine light comes on

Had fault code p0261 alternator d+ signal .


Cleared code as battery was okay and car was charging okay.

Two days later , and the battery warning symbol has come on and the steering dies ect , but when I get going the warning light goes out and all is normal untill you turn it off again and start it up ,

Is my alternator dead ?
Battery health fine on idle with lights on only making 11-12 v Which is too low but okay when on the move ,
Thanks

get your alternator tested

also check the drive belt has sufficient tension

drive belt is fine and itcharges at speed . it says a p0261 is ecm/ecu related . so i think the best thing to do is get my map looked at / removed first as im sure its to do with the recent mapping .

Get that map off because your ECU needs updated

i rang fiat and they said my car has had all the re-calls and updates . i changed the battery today for good measure and still no charge , but after seconds of start up i can smell burning coming from the alternator area .

im going to ring angel tuning and get the map of . as far as im concerned the problems out weigh the gains of the map , strain on the gearbox ect ect .

little red pocket rocket said:

i rang fiat and they said my car has had all the re-calls and updates

Click to expand...

How would they know, updates are issued often without notice however the burning smell is concerning.

thats fair enough . yea its odd . when its on idle , and you pop your head near the alternator you can smell it on with the previous fault code and only 12V at my battery and NOT charging i put this down to my alternator . as i say will get that map off and go and see about the update . would you reccommend getting the map back on after or would that make the update pointless and just leave the map off ? .

All sorted , changed the alternator , charging fine and no more codes or smell ! Was fairly simple job for a confident home mechanic space was tight and need an E18 socket but not to bad .